The present invention relates to a disk brake, particularly for high performance motor vehicles, of the type comprising a support bracket having opposing walls provided with seats for accommodating respective pads, and a sliding caliper body provided with seats for accommodating hydraulic pistons for urging the pads against one another.
As is known, disk brakes of the type specified, while being satisfactory for use in medium performance vehicles with brake disks of modest dimensions, have considerable disadvantages for use in heavy, high performance vehicles which require high braking performance. High performance vehicles, in order to have available an adequate braking power, require the use of brake disks and pads having large dimensions. This involves an increase in the dimensions of the support bracket and also of the caliper body and, consequently, an increase in the lever arms which, together with the high braking force, give rise to excessive stresses on and deformation of the brake. In addition, an increase in the dimensions of the pads and an increase in the braking force involve the problem of non-uniform wear on the pads and the problem of dimensioning and positioning the hydraulic thrust units. In order to ensure reliable operation, the individual components of the brake, in particular the slideways of the sliding caliper body, have to be over-dimensioned, which involves increased production costs.